7 Ways That Grandparents And Grandchildren Can Enjoy Their Visit

Preparing For The Weekend Visit

There will come a time when your grandkids are not toddlers
and no longer interested in Barney songs on TV or playing with
small toys.

They want more to do when they visit or spend the weekend and
keeping them entertained between snacks and meals does not have
to be a chore or put you in the rest home after they leave.

One way to get prepared for the onslaught of activity and noise
that comes with those grandkids you adore is to make a list of
what each one likes and dislikes, including food, TV programs,
computer games and movies.

Leave room to edit that list often because young children or
teenagers are as changeable as the wind, but they will always
remember their grandmother and grandfather’s house…

 Make their favorite cookies or stock their favorite ice cream
and soda before  they arrive. Have ice in the freezer. Be prepared.

Next, find local activities or events that they might enjoy.
Note the hours the event or activity is open, entrance fees,
address, phone number, appropriate age level (ask before
you show up with the grandkids and are not admitted).

To remove as much stress as possible ask some friends with
grandkids for recommendations or suggestions, watch the
local ads on TV, check your local newspaper the week before
they arrive at your door.

If you can decide what the kids’ favorite movie is you could
check if it’s playing at a local theater and buy advance
tickets, so you can avoid standing in lines.

Make an adventure out of going to the movies. Plan to ride
the bus and purchase bus passes ahead of time. Get ice cream
sundaes on the way home.

With a little forethought and preparing for age differences,
you can be ready for whatever your grandkids like to do.
If you aren’t sure what they might like to do, ask your kids,
their parents.

As a last resort, call up the grandkids and ask them what
they’d like to do during their visit.

However, it’s important to keep in mind today’s crop of young
people are not the same as your kids were at their age. Their
interests involve video games, computers and texting on cell
phones and a host of activities you might not recognize. A
chat with your adult children might be a good idea.

Depending on what you find out you might be able to find
something that suits their current fascinations such as
building a model of something like space ships or really
gory creatures.

Having some suggestions ready for activities that might
entertain your grandchildren in your home seems more desirable
than having them spending their whole visit parked in front
of the television set the whole time.

1. PUZZLES

Do they like puzzles? Have a few that are age appropriate
and themed for their favorite heroes or animals. If a
granddaughter loves kittens,for example, have a kitten
puzzle ready to put together as an activity around the
kitchen table.

Make some popcorn and spend the evening having fun.
Afterwards, you can glue the pieces together and have
a picture ready for a simple frame she can take home.

Dollar Stores and discount stores usually have an
assortment of puzzles, frames and glue for a dollar
or less.

2. CARD GAMES

Grandparents have played Crazy Eights, Old Maid or Go
Fish for decades and let their small grandkids win
everytime. Having a few treats on hand for the winners
would be a good idea.

Decks of cards for specific games or generic poker
decks can be found in almost any discount or general
merchandise store for a dollar or two.

If your grandkids are a little older than the Go Fish
crowd, make up your own card game. Give it a name and
have simple rules. Write the rules down for visits on
other weekends. Be creative.

3. COOKING WITH GRANDMA OR GRANDPA

A grandparent can have young ones help her make cookies,
bake bread or stir the mixings for refrigerator strawberry
jam to put on their morning toast. That should make a
rainy day at home fun and tasty. Think about an afternoon
tea party with grandparents and all the kids.

Make the tea sandwiches and fancy crackers in the
morning with the kids. Let them use cookie cutters to
make designs out of simple sandwiches. Serve the tea in
the afternoon and finish with a video.

4. CREATING A FAMILY COOKBOOK

Make the recipe together to “test it”. After tasting your
creation (you wouldn’t want any bad-tasting recipes in the
family cookbook, would you?) print out the directions on
pretty paper decorated with crayons and/or decals before
you put the decorated copy in your homemade recipe book,
which can be a simple binder.

Each visit could be the occasion for another special
recipe ready for a page in the cookbook.

If you get one of those white binders with a transparent
pocket on the front, they can decorate a piece of paper
for the cover and slip it inside. Have each child sign
or print their name on the paper.

If you have a digital camera, take each person’s picture,
print it out and paste their faces on the cover near
their name.

5. GARAGE ACTIVITIES

If one of you is crafty or handy with glue and simple tools,
make a doll house in the garage or build a village out of
popsicle sticks. You can find them at any craft store and
probably the craft section at Wal-Mart. These activities
can carry over to several weekends.

6. MAKING SIMPLE PUZZLES

One fun activity is to get some heavy craft paper or thin
cardboard and a jar of Mod Podge, a puzzle glue like Elmer’s.

You can find white cardboard in the craft aisle at
almost any large discount store, like Target or Wal-Mart,
or Michaels, to name a few. Cut it into 12″ by 12″
squares, making sure you have one for each grandchild.

Have a gallon zipper plastic bag for each child to keep
their puzzle pieces in.

Protect your tabletop and give each one a piece of
cardboard and a set of crayons or colorful felt pens.
Have them draw and color a picture of their own design
on the cardboard.

Do not hurry them. Let them take their time. A bowl of
hot popcorn or plate of cookies would be a welcome
addition.

When they are finished, have them add their name and
date in a corner. Then paint the surface with Mod
Podge and let it dry completely. Later, give each of
the older children a safe pair of scissors and have
them cut their picture into puzzle pieces.

You might have to help the younger ones, but have
them tell you where to cut.

7. SOME MORE CRAFT IDEAS

You can cut wet dishwashing sponges into simple
shapes, like stars, flowers, circles and moons.
While the sponge is still wet, have your toddler
rub the surface with colored chalk and make
patterns on construction paper. Any mess can be
easily cleaned off the kid.

Have a supply of colorful thick yarn and beads
large enough to not be swallowed or large wooden
shapes with holes in them for your grandchild to
string and hang in front of a window so your
artist can see it while they visit.

Most craft stores sell bags of colorful polyester
shapes that can be glued on paper or assorted
gift boxes to hold private treasures. Glitter glue
and brightly colored pipe cleaners can be an
attractive addition to the kitchen table creation.

Grandchildren who are a little older can tear
colorful tissue paper into random designs and glue
the torn designs on a piece of white poster board.

If the child needs help spreading the glue with
a small brush, be sure to ask where to put it.

Your grandchild might be interested in seeing how
overlapping colorful pieces result in different
colors, so this is no time yet for structure or
neat patterns. “Neat” is not a goal for most young
kids!

To make the colorful creation special it could be
finished with Mod Podge – this adds a nice shine.

Young children would also enjoy pressing a small
thumb on a stamp pad with washable ink and stamping
thumbprints on envelopes or blank card stock. They
might even create some representations of flowers
or small animals

Finishing the design with crayons or marking pens
will stimulate their imaginations.

GRANDMA AND GRANDPA ARE READY FOR A BREAK!

All this activity with active young children can be tiring for
mature adults used to their quiet life and you might be able
to manage a nap together after all the fun you had!

Or this would be a good time to get down on the carpet and
cuddle while watching an appropriate video together.

PS. This is the Day 2 post for Darren Rowse’s 31 Day Build a Better Blog Challenge, started on March 1.
Having recently started my Apprentice Marketer Gazette blog made it difficult for me to keep up with the Challenge but Darren made it clear that many of the thousands of bloggers participating were doing this at their own pace so I figured I would too until I needed to go help my daughter recover from major surgery… she does not have a broadband connection and I was too busy anyway… I was gone a whole month but I’m back now and will work through the
Challenge to Build a Better Blog. Fran

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Tags: computers, grandchildren, grandfather, grandma, grandmother, grandpa, video games

This entry was posted on 06/03/2009 at 21:56 and is filed under Life After Sixty.... You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.